For some twelve or thirteen years I've been watching the NewsHour on PBS. Since they spend more time on a handful of topics every weeknight than the network news programs I appreciate the added depth of coverage.

One of my pet peeves about the programming is the attention given to some occasional contributors of the NewsHour when they've come out with a new book. Some examples of this would be Robin MacNeil, Michael Beschloss, Richard Rodriguez, and Anne Taylor Fleming. By contrast, when a host of books started appearing on bookshelves about the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore I never saw one author on the program to discuss his/her book on the topic. When an author like Paul Krugman* pens a timely book such as "The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century" you will never see it on the NewsHour.

Since this is a taxpayer supported enterprise such log rolling strikes me as unethical.

*Update, 2012, Paul Krugman has been on the show several times as a panelist to discuss the economy since this post was written in 2008.